Ana had hollered and thrashed herself to exhaustion. Her voice was gone. All that remained was a burning throat and a twitching body. She was on her belly on the bed, almost falling asleep.
Vlad was kneeling close by nearby, his arms folded on the mattress like it was a desk, his cheek on one of those arms. He had scratches on his face now. Ana had nearly gouged his eyes with her fingers, but he wasn't angry.
Her world had been flipped upside down, and he felt that he was at least partially responsible for it. She once was a source of tranquillity for him, an escape from the bloody arrangements in his existence. Now she was tainted with the morbid knowledge.
But he still loved her. How could he not? She craved privacy, and she could be very quiet, but when one goaded her she'd give the fiercest and loudest words. She was affectionate, and mostly open-minded about people and their lifestyles. And she was fairly intelligent. Not a genius, oh no, but certainly not a moron.
She'd grown on him like beautiful creeping vines with flowers, but he didn't feel captured nor strangled. He felt embraced. Even with a bleeding face, even while emotionally depleted, even knowing that Ana might hate him right then, he loved her. Maybe it wasn't a sensible love. Maybe all the reasons he'd listed in his thoughts weren't enough to justify his love. Maybe he only wanted her around because she was young and refreshing.
Vlad's head rose an inch or so as he rubbed at an eye.
Maybe he was a delusional old man.
The Old Man.
The Sad Old Man.
"Ana, are you awake?"
Her fingers twitched and she mumbled something sandy. He could still see the buildup of skin and blood under her fingernails.
"Those photos I showed you, family photos, do you remember them?"
Ana's brow wrinkled.
Vlad sighed. "I don't know who those people are. I've never married anyone named Sorina, or if I did I don't remember it. The little boy you saw wasn't Mihai. I doubt he's related to the woman."
Ana grimaced and snuggled her face into a pillow.
"Would ... would you like to know the most disturbing facts about my age?" He almost never talked about it. Most vampires didn't want to.
Her legs folded up in a fetal position.
Vlad closed his eyes. "The earliest memory I have is from ... perhaps the first decade of the 20th century. I don't know what happened before then. I only have limited evidence to learn from. So," he gulped down a knot of pure sadness, "in reality, I don't know if Mihai's my son or not. Perhaps Brun brought him to me to have as a companion, and we told everyone he was my son. I don't remember. He doesn't remember either. As for Brun, she certainly doesn't remember."
Saying these words ... it hurt him more than he'd like to admit.
"Time ... goes on. Every society changes. Some even disappear. Standards change. We must change to survive. I have no idea what sort of person I was before I became a vampire. I have no idea what sort of person I was in the 1800s. Now consider this, please. If you don't, you won't be able to justly scrutinize me, and your love will be incomplete ... assuming you do still love me."
He didn't hear Ana make any noises except for her breathing.
"I'll place two examples of humanity's past here for clarification," Vlad said. "It was once common and considered acceptable in some cultures for a husband to kill his wife if he learned she'd had an affair with another man. Also, in some cultures, if a child was born with any deformity, it was perfectly allowed, even encouraged, for the parents to abandon the child in the wild or even kill them. Sometimes I wonder what sort of person I'd been during certain eras, and I wonder what I'd have likely done. Is there an afterlife? If so, will I be judged for anything modern people consider to be cruel? Will I be judged for actions I can't remember? Actions I would currently call evil?"
His voice turned fuzzy. "And now, I wonder what you'll think of me, knowing I might have done unspeakable things."
Silence.
He opened his eyes and pushed his torso up.
Ana's face was still on the pillow. He reached over to nudge her shoulder. She turned her head to give him a completely "done" look. She'd had her fill of upsetting things.
"Did you hear what I said?" Vlad asked. He didn't want to repeat it all.
She licked her lips, wiped her eye with a corner of the pillowcase, and nodded.
Vlad made a tiny smile. "I have many benefits to share with you, if you want them."
Ana put her face back on the pillow.
"Although it should be quite obvious to you that you shouldn't spread all this secret information." Vlad ruffled her hair. She was oddly cute. "Not only will Brun arrange an expert cover-up. She'll kill you in the meantime."
Ana sniffled as if she was close to weeping.
***
In the kitchen, Chouko was operating a coffee maker, but not for coffee. She was using it to make some tea. She consulted a small notepad with Japanese notes on what the labels on each button meant. It was there just in case a few English words were forgotten. At the bar area, Dalca-san was reading a page of a spiral notebook someone had given him. Sometimes, in this era of electronic information, it was safer to write facts down than type them out.
"A few more of my knights have been attacked," he said with a disappointed tone.
The coffee maker was loud, but not too loud. Chouko heard him clearly. She said, "For this brand new colony to be attacked, that's terrible."
One of the spiral notebook's pages made a dry flapping noise as it was turned.
"Is it possible that Dalca-san has made an enemy?" Sometimes, in Japanese, one would address a person without literally saying an equivalent of you, but using a name or title instead. Chouko turned the coffee maker off and pulled the glass pot out. "But I can't imagine such a thing." She poured some tea into a white mug.
"It's possible that the lord of one of the older colonies here wants to cause some trouble." When Chouko walked to him and offered the cup of tea, he smoothly took it. "When Brun figures out who's responsible, she won't be merciful."
Nodding, Chouko said, "The fact that they've been murdering unrelated people is shameful."
"That's what I don't understand," Mihai said as he put his cup down. "Why would they do that? It's so dangerous."